it's not like they've got anything else substantive to work on. "first look" is up next. breaking and new right now on "first look," a terrorist situation half a world away with 170 hostages being held. right now, we've got a live report coming up. a brewing controversy over donald trump's suggestion that he implement a mandatory database to track muslims in america. a discarded cell phone and new details in the hunt for the paris terrorists continues. and closer to home, the fbi speaking out on the latest isis videos. >> we are not aware of any credible threat here of a paris-type attack. plus convicted spy jonathan pollard is set to be released from prison today. box office records from "star wars" a month before it opens. and much more. but we start -- we start right now with breaking news out of mali. the u.s. embassy is telling

americans to shelter in place after gunmen attacked a radisson hotel in the country's capital city. nbc news is reporting there are 170 hostages, and right now, police are sealing off the area. automatic weapon fire could be heard outside the hotel. nbc's ron mott joins us now with the latest on this developing situation. good morning, ron. >> good morning, shannon. i apologize for the alarms you hear behind me in the building here. this is a developing situation, obviously, and information is sparse and rather conflicting so far. here's what we know. nbc news has learned at least 170 people were taken hostage today at the radisson blue hotel in mali's capital bamako according to a hotel spokesperson. on its website the hotel says there are just two people holding 140 guests and 30 employees. but a local government official has confirmed in a press conference that there are 12 hostage takers. nbc news has also not confirmed reports that some people have been killed in this attack. though a french official said there has been gunfire.

it's unknown whether any americans are being held. now the u.s. embassy is asking its staff to shelter in place, and requests that all u.s. citizens in that area do the same and contact their families if at all possible. now terror attacks in northern and central mali have been a growing threat this year. back in august at least 12 people were killed during another attack on a hotel used by united nations staff. this one about 400 miles northeast of the capital where this is unfolding today. french forces backed up the malian military in ending that assault which lasted 24 hours. as we said this is an ongoing situation. details are changing and coming in very rapidly. stay tuned to this nbc station throughout the day for more information. for now in london, let's send it back you to, shannon. >> ron, if i can just ask you a quick question here. and i know this is a developing situation. do we have any idea of the identities of these gunmen? >> we do not. but we understand from a french official this that is not believed to be an isis-led attack. it could be some other terror group that is behind this particular one. there has been some civil war

activity in the central and northern parts of that country so we're still waiting word on exactly who they are, and what officials are planning to do about trying to end this siege at this hour. shannon? >> all right. nbc's ron mott joining us from london with the latest. thank you, ron. a lot of other developments to tell you about, including the highly controversial plan by president -- presidential candidate donald trump for dealing with muslims in america. the republican front-runner is suggesting that he would create a database that would require american muslims to register and possibly give them special identification. one jewish group responded by saying registering everyone of a certain religion to a list. we've seen that. it doesn't end well. more on mr. trump coming up, but first we want to bring you up to speed on the latest with the paris terror attack. we're learning more about the female who detonated a suicide vest during this week's raid in saint-denis. including this picture of her that local belgian media says she posted to social media back in june. and this audio of an exchange with police during the raid. now we should warn you, some

viewers may find it disturbing. [ gunfire ] meanwhile belgium is conducting more raids in connection to the paris attacks and the hunt for salah abdeslam. nbc's claudio lavagne is live in brussels for us. claudio, what's the latest on those overnight raids? >> well, shannon, yes, there were at least nine raids carried out overnight yesterday now three of them were directly linked to the paris attacks and the investigators were looking for, of course, salah abdeslam the last known terrorist who escaped after the terror attacks last friday. now he's potentially here in belgium, of course, he was born, raised and radicalized here and this is where the authorities believe that he may have access to a number of safe houses. and yesterday the police put out a video message warning the

population that he may well be in this country, that he is dangerous, he may be armed, and not to approach him if anybody recognizes him. but here there's a height beed state of alert because of it. now behind me today there was a big gathering of students, planned. and that was just canceled. the mayor has announced, also, there's been a deployment, a lot more troops guarding every corner here, just even around this hotel. i've seen two or three soldiers standing guard that i haven't seen yesterday. so there is a heightened state of alert here in brussels, shannon. >> all right. the hunt continues. claudio, thank you for that. with everything that's happened in europe over the past week, there's a simple question many people are asking here at home. are we safe? nbc justice correspondent pete williams reports. >> in new york city, police put on a show of force, largely intended to be reassuring, as u.s. officials brushed off an isis video that includes a segment juxtaposing pictures of guns and explosives with recycled still photos of times

square. >> we are not aware of any credible threat here of a paris-type attack. and we have seen no connection, at all, between the paris attackers, and the united states. >> reporter: the fbi's biggest worry? dozens of potential homegrown extremists who have shown some response to isis propaganda. who might, the fbi worries, try to carry out copycat attacks like what happened in paris. >> we are watching people of concern using all of our lawful tools. we will keep watching them, and if we see something, we'll work to disrupt it. >> reporter: but the fbi's comey said he's seen no sign of isis members coming to the u.s. in the past days or weeks. and while the paris attacks have western europe on high alert american officials say there are reasons why the u.s. is generally safer. among them, the u.s. does not have the porous borders of europe, where it's so easy to get from one country to another undetected. far fewer americans have gone to syria to join isis, and return. police in europe are overwhelmed trying to track the estimated 5,000 people there who've been

to syria and back. compared to what comey said is a number in the teens of people from the u.s. who've gone overseas, associated with isis, and come back. comey said the pace of attempts by people here to get to syria slowed in the past four months. and officials say muslims in the u.s. generally feel more welcome here, better assimilated that in europe. their cooperation has been important in alerting u.s. police to potentially suspicious behavior. >> that was pete williams reporting. now to some more breaking news. former spy jonathan pollard is scheduled to be released from federal prison today. the former u.s. navy analyst was arrested in 1985 for spying for israel. he was sentenced to life in prison two years later. pollard, now 61, is expected to settle in new york, where he'll spend at least the next five years on parole. he said that he hopes to eventually emigrate to israel where his second wife lives. for the fourth day, black lives matter protesters demonstrated in front of the minneapolis police precinct.

protests began after a police officer fatally shot jamar clark, an unarmed black man, happened on sunday. demonstrators are demanding video of the shooting be released. during wednesday's protests, one activist tweeted a disturbing photo showing the son of u.s. congressman keith ellison with his hands up as an officer aims his rifle at him. in response, congressman ellison tweeted my son is peacefully protesting with hands up. officer is shouldering gun. why? at last night's protest the congressman spoke, calling for calm. >> i want to make sure that everybody expresses themselves, but that people's emotions don't boil over. >> for the first time ever, the fda has approved a genetically modified salmon to be sold in the u.s. it's been engineered to grow twice as fast while eating 10% less food. the fda won't require stores to label the salmon as different from all-natural salmon. consumer advocates are decrying

that decision questioning the long-term effects of eating genetically modified food. all right. let's get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning, happy friday, landon. >> hey there, shannon. happy friday to tu, as well. just to know we have seen no changes in futures since the hostage situation in mali. they are still higher. but the markets closing slightly lower thursday with the dow held down by united health. shares climbed as it says the costs of obamacare are taking a toll on its bottom line and it may no longer offer insurance plans through health exchanges after next year. aetna recently said it's also losing money on health exchanges. and the new star wars movie doesn't open for a month but it's already set to smash box office records. analysts expects "the force awakens" to rake in at least $200 million in its opening weekend, possibly topping "jurassic world's" debut. no movie has ever made $100 million during an opening weekend in december. and to provide distance between you and your ex. it's testing tools to keep your

significant other out of your news feed but keep photos and videos from their feed. the option appears when you change your relationship status to single. breaking up is hard to do. >> how about the unfriend button. i think that also works. just a thought. landon, thank you. have a great weekend. >> you, too. >> the latest breaking details on the situation at a radisson hotel in mali, where a reported 170 people are being held hostage. we'll be right back with some late-breaking details.

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welcome back. we have breaking news out of mali. here's what we know right now. the u.s. embassy is telling americans to shelter in place, after gunmen attacked a radisson hotel in the country's capital city. nbc news is reporting there are 170 hostages, and right now police are sealing off the area. automatic weapon fire could be heard outside that hotel. nbc's henry austin joins us now with the latest. and henry, what can you tell us about this developing situation? >> i can tell you that 140

guests, and about 30 employees, have been taken by a reported ten gunmen. that's according to the carlton residence group which owns radisson. this means the hotel is locked down. there's no possibility to come in or go out and police are sort of surround, and security forces are surrounding the building. nobody has claimed responsibility for this -- for this yet. it's a hostage situation, basically. we're trying to establish the names and nationalities of those involved, and the u.s. embassy is advising that people stay put, and monitor local media for updates. >> is there any update at all? i know this is an ongoing situation, henry, but as to t the -- as to the health of the people inside that are being held hostage? have you heard of any casualties at this point? >> we've not heard of any

casualties at this point. we're still trying to establish who is inside, and what is exactly happening. there were reports of gunfire, however, which we can't establish whether anybody's been hit. but, we know that shots were heard. >> this -- this hotel the radisson, as i understand it, is a u.s.-owned hotel there, popular with expats who are in the area. is there any reason to believe that it was targeted for that reason? >> at this precise point we don't know. one might imagine that that would be why it would be a target. there's obviously a number of french guests and a chinese guest has reported that there are a number of chinese guests trapped in the hotel. so, i mean, it would seem like something that might be a target

for people in the area. but we're still trying to establish exactly what's happening. and what is -- what is an ongoing situation. >> certainly. okay. nbc's henry austin joining us with the latest on this fluid situation in mali. henry, thank you. of course we'll keep tabs on that and bring you the latest just as soon as we get more details. straight ahead, more on the controversial proposal by donald trump that would require all muslim americans to register on some sort of database. details on that next.

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the political back and forth over syrian refugees has escalated every day since the paris attacks and it reached new heights yesterday, starting with donald trump. [ inaudible ] >> there should be a lot of systems beyond databases. we should have a lot of systems. and today you can do it. but right now we have to have a border. we have to have strength. we have to have a wall. and we cannot let what's happening to this country -- >> is that something your white house would like to do? >> i would certainly implement that. absolutely. >> what do you think the effect of that -- how would that work? >> it would stop people from cominging in illegally. we have to stop people from coming into our country illegally. >> for muslims particularly? >> it would be good management. what you have to doprocedures. and we can do that. >> do you go to mosques and sign these people up? >> different places. you sign them up at different -- but it's all about management. our country has no management.

>> and he wasn't the only one. we'll show you more on that in just a moment. but so far, it's mostly just been rhetoric, until now. the house of representatives turned tough talk into action approving a bill to effectively halt all refugees from coming in to the u.s. nbc's andrea mitchell reports. >> reporter: the fear about syrian refugees got ugly on the campaign trail. >> you know, if there's a rabid dog running around your neighborhood, you probably are not going to assume something good about that dog, and you're probably going to put your children out of the way. we have to have in place screening mechanisms that allow us to determine who the mad dogs are, quite frankly. >> reporter: donald trump, telling yahoo! he wouldn't rule out requiring muslims to register and carry identification. and trump saying the syrians are coming. >> syrians are now being caught at the southern border just like i said. they're going to be pouring in.

we don't know who they are. could be isis. >> reporter: in fact, two syrian families, including four children, presented themselves to u.s. customs at laredo, texas, asking for asylum. in manila, the president accused republican lawmakers of playing politics. >> the idea that somehow they pose a more significant threat than all the tourists who pour in to the united states every single day, just doesn't jive with reality. >> reporter: hours later 47 democrats voted against the president. joining republicans to virtually stop refugees from syria and iraq from coming to the u.s. by requiring the homeland security secretary, the fbi director, and the head of national intelligence, to personally certify that each applicant is not a threat. an impossible task. going against the tide, hillary clinton -- >> turning away orphans, applying a religious test, discriminating against muslims,

slamming the door on every syrian refugee, that is just not who we are. >> and that was andrea mitchell reporting. time now to welcome in jonathan allen, journalist and co-author of hrc. good morning to you, jonathan. >> good morning. >> so we've heard by now trump making headlines with his idea to create this database. reaction from american and islamic groups to the point where some of them don't even know how to respond. is this an idea you think we're going to see mr. trump go back on or at the very least be forced to explain a bit more? >> i suspect he's going to have to at some point explain either how he sees this as different, and he was asked about this, different than what was done in germany in the 1940s with jewish citizens. he'll either have to explain that, or perhaps back away, perhaps he can use that as a reason to back away. i don't think this is an idea that's going to ultimately be a winner for him electorally. >> here's the thing, though, there's this new poll, a reuters ipsos poll that shows me has a massive lead within the gop,

37%, next closest candidate being ben carson with only 14%. the poll, granted is from yesterday, so perhaps doesn't reflect directly these comments. although i don't think they break that far from what people expect from him. what does that say about how the general public, and the american public right now, is feeling. >> i think it says that donald trump isn't losing any steam as a result of what happened in paris or for any other reason. i think there's a segment of the republican party that is -- that's pretty strongly behind donald trump. it's been in the mid to high 20s at points before. that 37 number is, you know, among the higher ones i've heard in relation to trump. but, i think -- look, i think there are a lot of people in the party that think that donald trump would be tough. >> lastly here, let's talk about this syrian refugee bill. passed the house. no surprise there. what was a little bit surprising was that it had pretty broad support from democrats. is this surprising to you? and what's the president up against? >> it's not terribly surprising. this is a thorny political issue.

obviously if you vote to let syrian refugees in, or you vote against blocking them, and there is some sort of terrorist incident, or any other problem, that's an issue for members. so they think about that. >> all right, jonathan allen joining us this morning. jonathan, thank you. have a great weekend. >> you, too, take care. >> all right, thank you. old man winter paying a visit to the midwest. bill karins will have the details on that next. it's how i try to live... how i stay active. so i need nutrition... that won't weigh me down. for the nutrition you want without the calories you don't... introducing boost 100 calories. each delicious snack size drink gives you... 25 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. so it's big in nutrition and small in calories. i'm not about to swim in the slow lane. stay strong. stay active with boost®.

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welcome back. we'll have more on the breaking news coming up. first in the chicago area, davenport, ames, des moines, sioux city to sioux falls first snow fall of the season is coming your way today, especially tonight and tomorrow morning. winter storm warnings have been issued. des moines could get three to six inches. chicago three to six inches of

snow. milwaukee could see as much as six to nine inches, including the rock ford area of northern illinois. the rest of the country, heavy rain early this morning from boston up into new england. that exits during the afternoon. so we'll be drying it out. the only really bad weather around the nation on saturday is going to be through the great lakes into michigan. even detroit could get some snow out of this and by sunday everything really calms down across the country. all eyes on the first midwest snowfall of the year. >> all right. bill, thank you very much. now back to that breaking news out of mali. here's what we know right now. the u.s. embassy is telling americans to shelter in place, after gunmen attacked a radisson hotel in the country's capital city. nbc news is reporting there are 170 hostages, and right now police are sealing off that area. automatic weapon fire could be heard outside the hotel. again, this is very much a developing story that we're getting out of mali at this hour. it's unclear who these gunmen are that have apparently stormed that hotel. and unclear who exactly was inside. but we understand that about 140

guests, and 30 hotel employees were inside. thanks for being with us. i'm shannon mulaire, everybody. "way too early" starts right now. breaking news from mali. at least 170 people being held hostage right now, after reports that gunmen stormed a hotel in the country's capital. the u.s. embassy there confirming an active shooter operation is now in progress. plus here in europe, officials expect to launch emergency talks on border security this morning. after losing track of the known terrorists who planned the attacks in paris. we're also learning new information about the woman who's believed to be the islamic state's first female suicide bomber and what seems to be her stunning transformation to terrorist. back at home the latest on the refugee bat s&l playing out in congress. as democrats give the gop enough votes to override a presidential veto. it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west, this is "way too

early." good morning, friday, november 20th, i'm chris jansing. we are live in paris once again, and we begin with that breaking news from mali. we have learned that a group of gunmen have stormed a hotel in mali's capital city, bamako, taking at least 170 people hostage. it happened at the radisson blu hotel. a spokesperson for the company that owns radisson tells nbc news the hostages include about 140 guests, and about 30 employees. according to the associated press, ten gunmen stormed the hotel, but nbc news has not been able to verify that number. the u.s. embassy in mali has confirmed it is aware of an ongoing, active shooter operation at the radisson hotel. let's bring in nbc news correspondent ayman mohyeldin who is live in brussels. what do we know now? >> well, we're starting to learn a little bit more details about this active shooter situation that has taken place in the malian capital. it's important to